Car-coupling



(No Model.) I

A. G. MARTIN.

' UAR COUPLING.

Patented Apr. 12', 1892.

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fiver 2 g UNITED STATES PATENT ()rrrcn.

ALEXANDER O. MARTIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,580, dated April 12, 1892.

Application filed June 4, 1891- $erial No. 395,082. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER O. MARTIN, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which corresponding letters of reference in the dilferent'figures indicate like parts.

My invention relates to car-couplers and is an improvement upon Letters Patent No. 436,796, issued to me September 23, 1890.

The object of my invention is to so construct a car-coupler of the type described in said patent that the draw-bar head may be closed at the bottom for the purpose of increasing its strength, while at the same time, the hooks being thrown back to a normal position, the slotted elbows may be utilized, in conjunction with suitable sockets, to form a link-and-pin connection between the drawheads, thereby producing a light, simple, and efficient coupler possessing great strength and adapted to connect with cars having drawbar heads of varying construction, all of which is hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan view of a car-coupler embodying the features of myinvention. tral vertical longitudinal sectional view thereof, showing one of the hooks in engagement with the slotted elbow upon the other. Fig. 3 is a like view showing the manner of employing a link-andpin coupling; and Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views in detail, taken at rightangles to each other, showing the manner of connecting a crank-lever or operatingbar to the rock-shaft upon which the couplinghook is pivoted.

In the drawings, a represents the draw-bar, integral with which is the draw-head b, which is open at the front and top and closed at the sides and bottom, a recess being thereby formed in said head for the reception of the elbow-shaped coupling device 0, having arms 0 d, the former of which is provided with a hook 0 upon its extremity, while in the latter is formed a slot or opening (1 said arms being, by preference, cast or formed in one piece. Said elbow is mounted upon and made Fig.2 is a cen-.

rigid with a rock-shaft e, having pivotalbearin'gs in the sides of the draw-bar head. The elbows in each head are duplicates of each other and are so adjusted that when the heads are brought togetherthe hook of one arm may fall into the slot or opening of the other, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

As the vertical movement of the hooked arm is unobstructed, it is practicable to couple cars the draw-heads of which vary in height, While the pivotal action of the elbows enables them to accommodate themselves to the utmost vertical movement of the cars resulting from the unevenness of the track or the yielding of the rail-joints; but as it is frequently essential to couple with cars having the usual link-and-pin construction I desire, while retaining this freedom of movement, to make such connection, but without materially increasing the size and weight or complicating the construction of the head. This I do by forming a socketfin the bottom of the head in alignment with the opening in the arm (1, in which socket a pin 9 may be inserted, as shown in Fig. 3, the upper part of the pin being supported when the strain of the link is placed upon itby said loop 01. 'Between the loop 61' and the bottom of the head maybe interposed the usual link 71. I prefer to make the socket f small enough at the bottom to sustain the pin and prevent it from falling through, while a bore f enables such water or moisture as might otherwise accumulate therein to drain therefrom.

As the body of the hook c is when in its normal position thrown back at an angle oblique to that of the aXis of the bar, it is obvious that the weight of said body serves to counterpoise the part d and to sustain it in a substan tially horizontal plane, so that the link h,

when employed, may be readily inserted beneath it in a space provided thereforand the pin 9 placed in its socket. The loop, pin, link, and hook therefore eoact toward the final result whenever it becomes necessary to employ a link and pin, for, as stated, the body of the hook serves as a counterpoise to the loop to sustain the latter in the proper extended position to receive either the opposite hook or a pin, as the case may be.

I prefer to place a lug 0 upon the elbow to serve as a stop for the link when employed ICO and to prevent said link from enteringthe throat so far as not to receive the pin in the opposite head when coupling. It is obvious that said elbow may be tilted in various ways to effect a coupling; but I prefer to attach to the respective ends of the shaft 0 a head 7;, provided with a suitable socket Z, in which is inserted a T-shaped end m of a crank-rod a, which is extended laterally to the side of the car.

One of the important advantages of my improved construction is that by employing the slotted arm to support the upper portion of the pin above the link, instead of using a rigid bar or web across the head, as might be done, the head is enabled to retain great strengtl1,while the arm a, when used to couple, is enabled to have afree vertical playinstead of being limited by such cross-bar or other device; nor is it necessary to form a recess and bore the sides of the head, thereby unduly weakening the latter.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim- 1. The combination, with a draw-head which is closed at the bottom and open at the front and top, respectively, of an elbow pivoted within said head, having a hook upon one part and a slotted arm or loop upon the other, a pin-socket in the bottom of said head in vertical alignment with the opening in said slotted arm or loop, and a space between said loop and the bottom of said head for the reception of a detachable link, whereby said loop is free to swing in the arc of a circle within the head and to serve as an upper bearing for a detachable pin, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with a draw-head which is closed at the bottom and open at the front and top, respectively, of an elbow pivoted within said head, having a hook upon one part and a slotted arm or loop upon the other, a pin-socket in the bottom of said head in vertical alignment with the opening in said slotted arm or loop, a space between said loop and the bottom of said head for the reception of a detachable link, said loop being free to swing back within the head and normally in position to serve as an upper bearing for a detachable link, and means for tilting said elbow upon its pivot, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a drawhead,of a pivoted elbow having a hook upon one part and a slotted arm or loop upon the other, a pin-socket in the bottom of the head in alignment with the opening in said loop, said elbow being pivoted sufliciently high in the head to permit the introduction of a link beneath, means for tilting said elbow, and a stop 0, formed thereon, to intercept the link, substantially as shown and described.

4. A car-coupler consisting of two elbows pivotally secured in opposite draw heads which are closed at the bottom, each of said elbows having a hook upon the extremity of one arm and a corresponding slot or opening at or near the extremity of the other, said draw-heads being provided, respectively, with a pin-socket in the bottom thereof in alignment with said slot or opening, together with a space beneath said arm for the reception of a link, and means for tilting said elbows upon their pivots, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 30th day of May, A. D. 189 1..

ALEXANDER C. MARTIN.

Witnesses:

D. H. FLETCHER, T. S. E. DIXON. 

